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ISLAMABAD: India’s Foreign Secretary is due to visit Pakistan this month to discuss Kashmir, a Pakistani official said on Tuesday, the first formal talks between the two rivals on their core dispute since the Mumbai attacks in 2008 froze their peace process.


India broke off peace negotiations with Pakistan after the attack by militants that killed 166 people, but the two sides agreed earlier this year to resume talks.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir were assigned to tackle the territorial argument over Kashmir, which lies at the heart of tension between the two states.
“She (Nirupama Rao) is expected here later this month to discuss peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir as well friendly exchanges,” the Pakistani foreign ministry official told Reuters.
Rao is due to retire on July 31.
The neighbours have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and their rivalry complicates Western efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and the South Asian region.
The two countries have been under pressure from the United States to try to ease tensions that spill over into Afghanistan.
They have held talks on a range of issues including a border dispute over a river estuary, a row over Siachen glacier — the highest battlefield in the Himalayan region — as well as ways to build commercial ties.

Pakistan’s former ODI captain Shahid Afridi and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt held a closed-door meeting in Islamabad amidst the presence of several members of the government, DawnNews reported.
According to a source within the PCB, the objective of the meeting was to thaw out a quick solution to the present crisis that is engulfing Pakistan cricket.
An out-of-court solution was also discussed, the source added.
Some sections of the media stated that Afridi was likely to be reissued clearance to play overseas after he withdraws his petition in the Sindh High Court.
PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told The Associated Press the meeting took place on Tuesday, but declined to comment further.
It must be noted here that while the lawyers of Afridi and the PCB are preparing for a Sindh High Court hearing on 16th June, pressure from various political circles might force both parties to settle the issue out of court.
Afridi went to court after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) punished him for allegedly breaching a code of conduct by announcing his retirement after he was dumped as one-day captain, and levelling allegations against the board.
It suspended his central contract and revoked all his no-objection certificates (NOCs), which would have allowed him to play in England – where he was due to represent Hampshire in the Twenty20 league – and Sri Lanka.
The Sindh high court in Karachi adjourned Afridi’s case until June 16, when PCB officials are expected to justify their sanctions against the all-rounder before a two-member bench makes a decision.

QUETTA: At least eight doctors were injured when police opened fire on their procession in Quetta on Tuesday, DawnNews reported.
The doctors were marching toward the Chief Minister’s residence.
One of the wounded doctors was in critical condition.
At least 50 doctors were also arrested after police baton-charged and shelled the participants of the march.
The doctors in Balochistan have been on strike for the past couple of weeks to press the government to accept their demands.
They want their salary and perks to be at par with those of doctors in the other provinces.

ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Tuesday walked out from the proceedings of the National Assembly in a protest against the renewed spate of killings in Karachi.
Raising a Point of Order in the NA, MQM MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi voiced serious concerns over the afresh wave of killings in Karachi, saying the city had been once again left to the mercy of terrorists.
Rizvi termed Karachi as the country’s economic engine and the centre of gravity for overall national growth. Efforts to destabilise Karachi would amount to destabilising Pakistan, he added.

ISLAMABAD: A woman was forcibly paraded naked through a village after her sons were accused of sleeping with a married neighbour who became pregnant, police said Tuesday.
The incident happened after neighbour Mohammad Salman grew suspicious that the woman’s sons slept with his wife in Neelor Bala village, 100 kilometres north of Islamabad, said police official Akhtar Nawaz.
Enraged Salman and his brothers went to confront the suspects, who were identified only as Rashid and Kazim, but they had fled, leaving behind their mother, Nawaz said.
“They dragged her out, tore up her clothes and forced her to walk naked on the street,” the police official said.
“No one has come to lodge a formal complaint. Police registered a case themselves after receiving reports from local residents,” he told AFP.
An investigation is underway and two people have been taken into custody for questioning, he said.
Police investigation officer Shabbir Hussain Shah said the statement of the woman, who is aged about 50, had been recorded.
Salman, who works in Lahore, believed that one of the brothers had got his wife pregnant while he was away from home, Shah said.
Rights for women in Pakistan are bleak. The nation still remains without a domestic violence law, pending objections from a hardline religious party.

Nazish Hussain Couture, Hussain’s label, is fun, with vibrant colours. The price range of her summer/spring collection starts from around Rs2,500 and goes up to Rs9,000. Hussain has previously exhibited her collections in Dubai, Canada and the USA. She graduated from the Asian Institute of Fashion Design just four years ago.
Hussain’s design philosophy has been “to move away from embroidery work and concentrate on trendy and fresh designs for the woman of today.” Her target market is females from the ages of 18 to 45 years. This is her debut launch in Karachi and she is available through appointment. She currently stocks her designs at a studio near Bilawal House in Clifton.
“In order to avoid repetition, I don’t use a design after it has been ordered three or four times,” said Hussain. “I incorporated 42 different designs in 48 of my pieces so that people could choose from a variety of clothes.”
Meanwhile, Sabeen Ali’s Goddess collection under the label of Shen was all about Western tops and silhouettes. This collection was priced between Rs1,200 to Rs5,000. Ali is a young designer whose mission “is to bring out the goddess in every girl.”
Explaining why she experimented with Western wear, she said: “In Karachi, you don’t find many people dabbling in this style. I believe there is a dearth of it, though almost everyone has a little collection in their wardrobe. Before I started designing, I used to travel to Dubai every three months to fetch some clothes for myself. But now, after my collection’s launch, this won’t be the case and there won’t be a problem for others either!” said an excited Ali.
“We joined hands in presenting our collections primarily so that we could provide women with trendy wear giving them best of both worlds, that is the East and the West,” explained Hussain. With the transporters strike also on that day, not many customers were seen at the exhibition in the afternoon. However, Hussain said that everything was sold out by the end of that day: “Given the unrest in the city and the strike, we were overwhelmed with the great response we received. I mean, the exhibition was supposed to go on for two days, but we sold the entire collection on the first day!”

Fakhri had been in a critical condition since May 31, when he was admitted to the Mayo Hospital.  Earlier, the actor had been admitted to the Cavalry Hospital following anxiety attacks.
Fakhri, who had a history of diabetes and blood pressure, was also a heart patient. He was put on a ventilator because his respiration was not strong enough. Doctors at Mayo Hospital said that he was in coma when he was brought to the hospital. At the time, they had said that they wanted to stabilise his condition. This proved unsuccessful and on Thursday, the TV star and stage artiste breathed his last.
Family members said that Fakhri’s health deteriorated rapidly following the death of his son, Ayaz Ali Fakhri, in the United States.
Ayaz was murdered in a gruesome manner in December 2010 and Jamil Fakhri never quite recovered from the shock of the death and the circumstances surrounding it. At the time he had said that he had no enemies and as such could not understand why his son was targeted.
Jamil Fakhri was a banker by profession. He had started his artistic career from a TV drama ‘Thanda Bokhar’.
Fakhri will be remembered for his PTV dramas from Lahore Station, which included “Piyas”, “Lahore Junction”, “Waris”, “Dunyadari”, as well as special features and Eid plays. He also performed in various Urdu and Punjabi films. One of his most memorable stints was as SHO Jaffer Husain in the TV drama serial “Andhera Ujala” where he performed alongside actors Qavi Khan and Irfan Khoosat.  He will also be remembered by his fans for his role in “Puray Chand Ki Raat”.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his grief and sorrow over the sad demise. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in his statement said that the late Jamil Fakhri was a versatile artist of high calibre. Jamil Fakhri is survived by a widow and three sons. His funeral prayers will be offered at his Ravi Road residence on  Friday.

KARACHI: The mother of the youth shot dead by Rangers personnel said on Thursday that she holds Interior Minister Rehman Malik responsible for the killing of her son.
Manzoor Fatima, mother of deceased 19-year-old Sarfaraz Shah, said that she blamed the interior minister for her son’s brutal murder.

“Who has allowed the Rangers to open fire on citizens? Rehman Malik has given the shoot at sight order,” she said. She also urged the Supreme Court to take notice of the incident.
Malik said on Thursday that it should not be forgotten that the boy was a criminal. He added that Shah was trying to rob two women before the incident took place.
Shah’s family is from Bagh in Azad Kashmir. According to his mother, he had recently taken his matric exams and had hoped to pursue computer science. He was the fourth child, and has four brothers.
His friends and relatives claim that Shah had never stolen from anyone to their knowledge. They also said that if he needed money, Shah would have asked his family.
Shah was shot at point blank range in a public park in an incident filmed live and broadcast on television on Wednesday. Footage of the incident, filmed by an Awaaz TV cameraman, was broadcast repeatedly on local television stations.
In it, a Rangers official can be seen dragging the boy, then throwing him towards half a dozen armed comrades, one of whom then shot the 19-year-old twice at point-blank range as he begged for his life.
The five Rangers were subsequently arrested and taken to the Rangers headquarters and Jinnah Court in Karachi.

Cameraman receives threats
The Awaaz TV cameraman who videotaped the incident has received threats from unknown persons after footage of the incident was aired on Wednesday.  Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said those calls would be traced and the cameraman would be given adequate protection.
Earlier, a case had been filed at the Boat Basin police station by Afsar Khan against Shah for attempted robbery. The complainant claimed that Sarfraz attempted to rob him and his family.
Town Police Officer Tariq Dharajo has said that the case registered against Shah is void as the accused is dead.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the immediate removal of Sindh Director General (DG) Rangers and the Inspector General of Police over the killing of Sarfaraz Shah by Rangers in Karachi, 



A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was hearing the case after the SC took suo motu notice of the incident on Thursday.
The court said that the Interior Secretary should consult Prime Minister Yousaf  Raza Gilani over the removal of the two officials and directed the secretary to present a report on the action ordered against them. The bench also said that such incidents increased “hate” against the security forces.
It also directed the Interior Secretary to appoint Deputy Inspector General Hyderabad to investigate the incident.
The chief justice said the appointment of incompetent officials had led to incompetent administration.
The hearing will resume at 12:30pm today.
Shah was shot at point blank range in a public park in an incident filmed live and broadcast on television on Wednesday. Footage of the incident, filmed by an Awaaz TV cameraman, was broadcast repeatedly on local television stations.

KARACHI: Two Rangers personnel, involved in the killing of Sarfaraz Shah, were handed over to the police on a five-day physical remand on Friday.
Express 24/7 correspondent, Ahmed Jung reported that Superintendent of Police (SP) Clifton had said that the two men, Muhammad Afzal and Shahid Zafar, had been handed over to the police on Thursday night. They appeared before Judicial Magistrate, Nadeem Badar Kazi at 9:30am today and were sent on a five-day physical remand.
The two Rangers personnel had been over the police after human rights activists Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar had held talks with DG Rangers and other officials in Karachi.
DG Rangers Sindh, Major General Ajaz Chaudhry had earlier said that six of the personnel involved in the incident were detained at Jinnah Courts, headquarters of the Rangers. Four others involved in the incident are yet to be handed over to the police.
Shah was shot at point blank range in a public park in an incident filmed live and broadcast on television on Wednesday. Footage of the incident, filmed by an Awaaz TV cameraman, was broadcast repeatedly on local television stations.

LOS ANGELES: The iconic black and red jacket worn by Michael Jackson in his “Thriller” video is to go under the hammer at a two-day Music Icons Exhibition in Beverly Hills.

The jacket is among 600 items that will go on sale at Julien’s Auction Gallery, including memorabilia from musicians such as The Beatles, Madonna and Lady Gaga, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and Justin Bieber on June 25 and 26.
Jackson’s Thriller jacket became the prototype for future costumes for the pop musician. The calf leather jacket includes an inscription by Jackson on the inside lining.
Estimated at a value of dollar 200,000 to dollar 400,000, a portion of the proceeds will go to The Shambala Preserve, which is home to Jackson’s two Bengal tigers, “Thriller” and “Sabu.” Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray has been charged with manslaughter after the pop icon died suddenly on June 25, 2009.
Prosecutors allege that Murray “abandoned his patient” after administering the powerful sedative propofol to help Jackson sleep.
Murray has denied the accusations and said that on the day of the 50-year-old singer’s death, he administered only a small amount of the drug.
His trial has been postponed until September.

SAN FRANCISCO: Blockbuster titles and powerhouse consoles will rule as videogame makers from around the world meet in Los Angeles next week for the premier Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Hotly anticipated games will build on established franchises with slick play mechanics, film-like graphics and increasing sensitivity to how much people love playing online with friends or on-the-go with mobile devices.
“E3 will be a strange combination of everything from blockbuster retail games like ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Battlefield’ all the way down to apps, social games, and digital downloads,” said TechSavvy Global analyst Scott Steinberg.
The latest installments of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” and “Battlefield” will duke it out for the hearts of hardcore shooter fans.
The third chapter in a “Mass Effect” science fiction action game promises a glorious finale to the trilogy. Glimpses will also be provided of new editions of hits “Prototype,” “InFAMOUS,” “Drake’s Uncharted” and “Batman.”
French videogame titan Ubisoft will continue an “Assassin’s Creed” saga set in Italy during the Renaissance and introduce new antics for its zany “Raving Rabbids.”
“Like the film industry, people want the big budget, everything-thrown-at-it experience and they also want the American Idol show,” said Martin Rae, president of nonprofit industry group Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
The onus is on game-makers to deliver must-have titles for play using motion sensing controls recently added to Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 consoles.
“It is not so much pressure as it is opportunity to think about new ways to entertain,” said Ubisoft North America president Laurent Detoc. “It is a very exciting time.”
Nintendo is expected to ramp-up the console competition with a second-generation Wii rumored to be more muscular than rivals and feature touch-screen capabilities in controls.
The Wii successor to debut when E3 opens on Tuesday was expected to be among expo highlights. The console is due to be released next year.
Sony wukk show off its Next Gen-Portable (NGP) handset that promises to “put the power of the PS3 right in the palm of your hand.”
The Japanese consumer electronics giant will be intent on making a splash at E3 to shake off the taint of a massive cyberattack that derailed its online gaming network until a week before the expo.
While the spotlight will be on major titles, games crafted for play on smartphones or tablet computers will be in the wings.
Game publishers are tailoring versions of console titles for mobile gadgets and envision one day being able to let people start playing on one device and then continue on others.
“For a long time the menu of games was thought to be just chicken, meat and potatoes,” Konami senior public relations manager Brandon Cox said at the company’s pre-E3 event in San Francisco. “Now you have a lot of salads, a lot of fruit… It is important to touch people where ever they are.”
Electronic Arts plans a glitzy press conference in a theatre for console titles, but has a suite in a nearby hotel devoted to smartphone and tablet games by Chillingo, Playfish, EA Mobile, Pogo.com and Hasbro.
Console videogames have been evolving to include online play with friends and stories stretched with digital content made available for downloaded on the Internet. Console videogames are also evolving, with compelling storylines to reward players for spending $60 on a triple-A title instead of a few dollars or less on social or mobile games.
“Good stories make the world of difference,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president of media and entertainment at Autodesk, which makes technology used to create videogames.
Freshly released “LA Noire” lets people play homicide detectives in 1947 Hollywood, while players’ choices in “Mass Effect” follow them from game-to-game shaping outcomes.
Publishers are confident that new “screens” will broaden the gaming audience to include just about anyone.
“There really has never been a better time to be a gamer,” Steinberg said. “The options are absolutely staggering.”

NEW YORK: It seems the fashion crowd, especially when fully decked out for Monday night’s Council of Fashion Designers of America awards, can be pretty intimidating: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said so, actress Naomi Watts said so, and even Lady Gaga said so.
On stage to accept her award as the year’s top style icon, a soft-spoken, maybe even teary-eyed Gaga said she was nervous.
”All of you made me feel like a star before I was,” she told the audience at Lincoln Center that boasted bold-faced names such as Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan and Michael Kors.
She talked about how important fashion was in her life as a pathway to self-discovery, artistry and confidence. As a teenager, she’d save her money to buy vintage Thierry Mugler from a neighborhood thrift shop, checking in with the salesman regularly to make sure her favorite pieces hadn’t sold while she was raising the cash. She planned her outfits for Friday night parties as if she was going to the Oscars, she said.
”As much as this award means to me personally … I just want you to know how much this means to young Americans,” Gaga said.
But the music star and style risk-taker, wearing a corset get-up by Mugler, a label now helmed by her friend Nicola Formichetti, got her swagger back as she recalled getting the text message from Wintour that she had been picked for the prize.
She said she thought the message was from a friend named Anna and replied with a bleep-worthy response. The text back from the Vogue editor-in-chief said, ”How lovely.”
That led to laughter _ and so did Cooper’s montage of his early days as a preteen model.
Cooper, a longtime friend of CFDA president von Furstenberg, said he decided to show his photos to prove his fashion cred since he was acting as master of ceremonies. (He also is the son of late designer jeans magnate Gloria Vanderbilt and worked as a fit model for both Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, who made his tuxedo.) ”There was no way you’d be critical,” he joked, ”or that’s what Diane said, anyway.”
Watts, dressed in a metallic T-shirt-style gown by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, presented the top womenswear honor to Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler. But she seemed to find the awkward walk across a long stage intimidating in her high heels. ”That was easy,” she said as she reached the podium. ”Fun doing it in a room full of supermodels.”
Top models Doutzen Kroes, Karlie Kloss, Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio and Chanel Iman were indeed in the house, on the arms of their favorite designers. Karolina Kurkova, in a striking hooded jumpsuit made of green sequins, read the names of the winners in the Swarovski emerging-talent categories: Eddie Borgo for accessories, Robert Geller for menswear and Prabal Gurung for womenswear.
Kurkova took a moment to sing for Gaga  ”I’m your biggest fan,” she said  and then Gurung asked during his speech if he could pose with Gaga. ”That will make me the coolest uncle,” he boasted.
But it was the nod from his fellow designers as well as retailers, stylists and editors that the rest of his family would find impressive, Gurung said. ”I’m just a guy from Nepal. I will call my mother and say, ‘It’s OK. I turned out fine.”
The two standing ovations of the night went to photographer Arthur Elgort and designer Marc Jacobs, who was there for his ”half-lifetime achievement award,” according to presenter Sofia Coppola.
”This achievement is born of love, passion, creativity … and a hell of a lot of hard work,” said Jacobs, who is 48.
He added, ”I believe we all know and feel the greatest reward is the process itself.”
Other highlights:
Kanye West, saying he was a huge fan, handed the international design prize to Phoebe Philo of Celine. He said he’s been known to go into a Celine store and try on the clothes womenswear, no less _ ”knowing that would get me bashed by the hip-hop blogs.”
Michael Bastian was named best menswear designer, and Alexander Wang as accessories designer.
Jessica Alba, showing off her baby bump in a coral-and-purple gown by von Furstenberg, gave the CFDA Founders Award to InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein.
Kors said he always enjoys this event because he likes being surrounded with ”people who have a passion for fashion.”
”Tonight is about not only people who make the clothes, but also the photographers, writers and the people who wear the clothes.”

NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Shania Twain is headed to Las Vegas.
The country superstar announced a headlining residency on Wednesday. It will be at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting Dec. 1, 2012. Her new show is called ”Shania: Still The One” and will feature all of her biggest hits, including ”You’re Still The One” and ”Forever And For Always”.
Twain had been out of the spotlight since the mid-2000s. Since that time she has gone through a number of personal struggles including the break-up of her marriage, losing her voice and a fear of returning to the stage. She has documented her comeback throughout her OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network show ”Why Not? With Shania Twain?”
Twain is the best-selling female country artist of all time. She has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide.

LOS ANGELES: Microsoft on Monday added YouTube, voice commands, television shows and more to its Xbox 360 with Kinect as the hot-selling videogame console matures into an entertainment center for all.
Studios joined Microsoft on the eve of a premier Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles to unveil blockbusters such as “Mass Effect 3” that let players use body motion or voice to execute tactics once the exclusive duty of toggles or buttons in controllers.
“Kinect is a natural way to converse with characters,” said BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka, whose studio is behind hit videogame franchise “Mass Effect.”
“In a game that already reacts to every decision you make, you will feel even more connected.” Microsoft was intent on broadening the array of Kinect titles to appeal to the traditional “hard core gamers” devoted to shooter games as well as the “casual” audience happy with virtual darts or bowling.
Ubisoft’s upcoming “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” military espionage action game was tailored to work with Kinect gesture-recognition, even letting people use motions to virtually dismantle and customize weapons with waves of hands.
All future titles in the “Tom Clancy” franchise will take advantage of Kinect capabilities, said Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot.
“We have been big believers in Kinect since Day One,” Guillemot said. “What we have done with ‘Ghost Recon’ and Kinect is something a gamer cannot do with a traditional controller.” Microsoft ramped up voice capabilities in Kinect to allow Xbox users not only to give commands to in-game characters but to speak Bing searches for games, movies, television shows, music and other entertainment content.
“This is an incredible time of growth and innovation for our business leveraging technologies that see us, hear us and connect us all together,” said Microsoft president of the Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick.
“This year by bringing together the power of Kinect for Xbox 360 and the intelligence of Bing, we are transforming how people enjoy entertainment.” Microsoft has sold more than 10 million of the gesture-sensing Kinect accessories for the Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since they hit the market in November of last year.
Kinect uses a 3D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames on the Xbox 360 using natural body movements and voice commands instead of hand-held controllers.
More than 50 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide.
Microsoft has teamed with television operators in Britain, France and Australia in the past two years to bring television shows to local audiences through an Xbox Live online entertainment service.
Executives from the Seattle, Washington-based company said Monday they are making alliances to do the same in the United States and other countries.
Microsoft was also adding Google-owned online video-sharing service YouTube to an Xbox Live line-up that includes Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Zune.
“It begins by giving TV a new voice, yours,” said Xbox Live corporate vice president Marc Whitten. “You say it, Xbox finds it,” he continued. “This is our vision of the future of television; TV is more amazing when you are the controller.” Voice capabilities will launch in 12 countries later this year and eventually expanded to all countries with Xbox Live, according to Microsoft.
New “body scan” software will let people take their own pictures using Kinect cameras and then convert the images into on-screen or even in-game animated characters, or avatars, with their features and clothing.
“We feel that we have all the great momentum,” said Dennis Durkin, chief operating officer of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business. “With our hardware, Kinect sensor, and Live services we feel we can go from being Number One in North America to being Number One worldwide.”
Whitten envisioned Kinect moving beyond the living room to medical centers and other places where technology to track skeletal movement and recognize voices could be useful.
“The idea that I can ask the computer to help me is very important,” Whitten said. “Kinect voice and skeletal tracking is about teaching computers how we actually work.”